Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 21,400 Shares of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 383,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,400 shares during the period. Cal-Maine Foods comprises 1.1% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cal-Maine Foods were worth $30,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,056 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 6,775 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Cal-Maine Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $883,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 396.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 11,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTS Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. BTS Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM opened at $76.60 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $82.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.16. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.92 and a 12-month high of $126.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.32.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.17. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 26.05% and a net margin of 20.07%.The firm had revenue of $666.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 53.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 EPS for the current year.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 29th. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CALM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stephens increased their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cal-Maine Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

About Cal-Maine Foods

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. The company offers specialty shell eggs, such as nutritionally enhanced, cage free, organic, free-range, pasture-raised, and brown eggs under the Egg-Land's Best, Land O' Lakes, Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, and 4Grain brand names. It sells its products to various customers, including national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, independent supermarkets, foodservice distributors, and egg product consumers primarily in the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.